Westwood residents Steve Cavallo and Sei Ryun Chun are among a group of artists who will display their work as part of "Come From the Shadows," an exhibit at the Palisades Park Library designed to bring awareness to a little known piece of history, the suffering of "comfort women" -- women and girls who were enslaved by the Japanese Imperial military during the 1930s through 1945.

There are only about 80 of them still alive today, and many are too feeble to make the trip, but some still go every week – at over 900 weeks, it is the longest continuous protest in the world.

These women, were former "comfort women" a euphemism for the young women and girls taken from their homes either by force or coercion, many from Korea, and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II.

It is estimated that there were about 200,000 of these women during the war, most of whom did not survive, being repeatedly beaten and raped, and eventually killed. Most of the survivors were unable to have children as a result of their experience at these "comfort stations."

To this day, the government of Japan has not made an apology for these crimes.

Two Westwood artists, Steve Cavallo and Sei Ryun Chun, are hoping to bring light to this little known piece of history, through a plaque designed by Cavallo that will be on permanent display in front of the Palisades Park Library, and an exhibit, "Come From the Shadows," that will feature works inspired by the stories of these women.

Cavallo, the art director for the library, said he first became interested in the subject in 1991, when many of these women first stepped forward and told their stories.

Chun, a Korean native who moved to the United States about 30 years ago, said the women’s storied touched her deeply. She hopes that through her art more people will become aware of the suffering of these women.

"It’s a very, very sad history," she said. "But artistic expression brings it more close to the heart."

About a year and a half ago, Cavallo arranged for a film to be shown at the library about the comfort women called "Silence Broken." Afterwards many people, including James Rotundo, the mayor of Palisades Park, told Cavallo that this was the first time they had heard about the comfort women. The Korean American Voters Council said they would like place a memorial plaque at the Hackensack Courthouse in recognition of the crimes that took place against comfort women during World War II. When someone from Hackensack said there was no room for another memorial in front of the courthouse (there are already four on display) Rotundo lobbied to place one in front of the Palisades Park Library.

The memorial, the first of its kind in the United States, will be unveiled on the grounds of the library on Oct. 23. Cavallo, who designed the art on the plaque, said he was honored to be involved.

"How often do you see a memorial to women?" he asked. "Most are either to men and women, or just to men. It’s a big women’s rights issue, and a big human rights issue. I don’t know of any other memorial that deals with sexual abuse. I think it’s a really important thing, it’s talking about history that’s not in the history books."

Last September Cavallo visited some of the comfort women in Korea, where they live together in a complex known as the "House of Sharing." He said meeting the women was an incredible experience, and informed many of the paintings in the exhibit.

He recalled how at first the women seemed to not want to talk about the past, but after a few days with them, one of the women opened up to his wife and told her story.

"When she started speaking about the past, I’ve never seen anything like it," said Cavallo. "It was the most disturbing thing – she was trembling, but it was underneath her skin on her face. It wasn’t her hands, it was within… It’s just a story, but this thing is so powerful in their lives that they are still trembling from it.

"Some people say, ‘why open old wounds?’ But these women want it opened up. I’ve seen pictures of 30, 40 women [protesting]. When I was there, there were only seven. Eventually it’ll be what a lot of people want – they’ll just be gone, and once they’re gone, all that history is erased."

The exhibit at Palisades Park Library will run through Nov. 14. From there it will travel to the Nahrah Gallery in Fort Lee on Nov. 17, with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Its last stop will be the Queens Holocaust Center, where it will open on Aug. 15, Korean Independence Day.